BTS: Spreading Butter and Love...

On Tuesday, May 18, the teaser video for Butter, BTS’s newest release, dropped on YouTube. My daughter, Sierra, and I watched it, and then, like a child being tossed in the air and pulled down into a loving hug, I eagerly yelled, “Again! Again!”

I stayed up late Thursday to catch the premiere of the music video for Butter. (LOVE IT!) Anyone who knows me will be amazed by that statement because I generally don’t stay up for anything. New Year’s Eve sees the last of me well before midnight. At slumber parties, I was always the early to bed early to rise girl; much to the chagrin of my friends who loved to sleep late. But this is BTS magic and I can’t say no.

If you haven't heard of BTS, or if you are in the camp of "I wish I hadn't heard of BTS", I urge you to take a couple of minutes to read this micro-overview of how the septet from South Korea is making the world a little better.

BTS debuted on June 13, 2013 but haven’t been a fangirl of BTS very long. I don’t even know how it started. Sometime last summer I heard Dynamite. It still eludes me how this happened because I generally listen to my Spotify lists mostly from the ’70s and ’80s. Dynamite fits into the disco-y type music of that era so it was an easy listen. I was taken by the voice of one of the members singing nearly acapella during a riff of the song. It was hypnotizing. I had to know who owned that voice. YouTube helped me identify the enchanted voice as Park Jimin. He’s the one we found out was called “Mochi” during the James Corden Carpool Karaoke Episode. YouTube was my best friend for a few weeks as I watched as many BTS interviews, episodes, and music videos that I had time to take in. By Thanksgiving, I was able to show my daughter, Joy, and granddaughters (one was already a fan) the magnificent seven. I could still barely tell them apart. Sierra came home in February from teaching English for 18 months in South Korea. She tried to avoid my obsession. “I was a K-Pop fan back in the day of SHINee.” She lamented. “It’s not fair everyone is obsessed with BTS now. My students were always trying to get me to like BTS. I refused.” But she was also mystified by Jimin and became caught in the BTS web. It didn’t take long before we were bonding over Run BTS episodes and building our BTS playlists. By April, I became an official member of the BTS GLOBAL OFFICIAL FANCLUB known as ARMY, an acronym of Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. My husband, a very good sport, thought it was a little silly that I would be gushing over these young men. He knows I have always been fond of boy bands. But he just doesn’t understand this complex relationship.

Yes, these guys are gorgeous, but unlike the guys in the posters I pinned up to my walls in junior high, I don’t want to date them. I appreciate the aesthetic beauty they bring into the world but the real beauty is in their words and actions. Their songs explore feelings of self-worth, mental health issues, and loving yourself. They discreetly donate millions to various causes both as a group and as individuals. They partnered with UNICEF in 2017 for the

“LOVE MYSELF” campaign that is focused on ending violence and bullying in the lives of young people around the world. Lee Key-cheol, the UNICEF Korea Executive Director, recently recalled a powerful comment from a conversation he had with a senior diplomat after BTS’s RM addressed the UN on September 24, 2018. “South Korea has made two major achievements for the last 60 years. The first one was its democracy and economic development, and the second one was producing BTS.”

BTS is always quick to acknowledge that ARMY is a part of them.

"We were only seven, but we have you all now...together we are bulletproof" are lyrics from their song "We are Bulletproof : the Eternal". ARMY has taken this to heart by following the philanthropic path BTS has paved. Instead of being the stereotypic crazed fan who worships the star idol, these fans have honored their idols by being involved in positive social activity. They organize and donate to charities on a regular basis, including raising $1 million in just over a day to match the donation of BTS to the Black Lives Matter movement.

One in an ARMY is a group of fans from around the world who are dedicated to using their "collective power for global good". Their motto “I am ONE in an ARMY”, promotes the idea that if many can give a little, together a big impact can be made. Jung Hoseok, J-Hope of BTS, echoed that sentiment recently saying there's "incredible power by people united together in one thought and heart." 2020 was a year of division; fiery politics, systemic racism, and even physical distance because of a worldwide pandemic. The BTS ARMY framework sparks hope that could be the foundation for people from around the world to enter into a more peaceful and understanding tolerance for differences and to develop a globally-minded culture worldwide.

But there is something else that makes BTS different. They just seem to exude joy. Over and over again fans of all ages comment and post about how they had been depressed about life until BTS came into their life. And, like myself, a lot of them could not remember how BTS came into their lives, only that they had been made better for it. There are, no doubt, many fans who want to “hook up” with a BTS member(I know my teenage self would have) just for the heartthrob thrill of it. The BTS magic is paving the way for a diverse global community of shared happiness and love.

Make no mistake, this is not just a boy band.

Please check out my BTS Spotify playlists on my music page.

image by eelnosiva via Shutterstock